Lock Me Up (With Love)
by MarisaKateBella
Summary: Rick Grimes is a senior at UGA who is gearing up for the greatest year of his life. That is until he gets his housing assignment…a double? For a senior? It's unheard of. And what is worse: he's stuck there, thanks to an overly packed incoming freshman class. To top it all off his roommate, Daryl, is rude and probably the most anti-social person he's ever met. (Non-apoc. College!AU)


**Hey everyone, I know a few of you who have been following me know I've been gearing up to write something pretty big. Well, I've finally reached a place where I felt like I could share a sneak peek of my new story: Lock Me Up (With Love)! This is my first attempt at a Rickyl!Longfic so read at your own risk. I am posting this chapter just to get a feel for the fanbase, since many of you know that I'm going to be pretty busy this summer and regular updates won't be promised until August. I know it's a long time to wait but hopefully it's worth it.**

**I would really love some feed back—if you would like to continue reading this, what you think of the characterization. Anything you want to give me will be considered as I move forward with the story (and probably write a revamped first chapter.) I wanted to especially thank Holly ( /users/fandomvision/), this story would not be going where it is going without you. Thanks for all your support and help! (Thanks to all my other lovely followers and friends who have been eagerly awaiting the appearance of this fic.) So without further ado, I present for your reading pleasure: Lock Me Up (With Love).**

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**Lock Me Up (With Love)**

**Chapter One: Mind Your Manners**

"Last name please." A harried looking woman requested as Rick stepped up to the table.

"Grimes." Rick answered. He waited patiently as the woman ran her highlighter down the side of the page she was bent over. The room was loud with the overlapping voices of several students greeting each other after a long summer away, getting their room assignments and talking excitedly together. The lines were formed by grade and it was amusing to see the awkward and tightlipped freshman with their parents pressed close to their sides. Rick lip quirked up slightly at the sight of them; when did they start looking so young?

"Richard?"

Rick looked back at the woman after hearing his full name, wrinkling his nose a bit but not losing his friendly smile. He nodded at her, but when she didn't look up from the list in front of her he cleared his throat. "Yeah."

"Room 5A, Horvath House." She passed him his packet with his room key and several other items describing moving in processes and general first week back information.

"Thank you." Rick said politely and turned to leave.

"Mr. Grimes?" The woman looked up for the first time since Rick had stepped up to her table.

He paused and turned towards her with an expectant expression.

"I don't know if anyone informed you, but due to a large incoming class some people had to be shuffled around. You've got a roommate. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Residential Life, but I'll warn you now that there is little they are going to be able to do."

"It's not a problem." Rick stated, though his voice might've been just a bit tight. The woman gave a sharp nod before dropping her head back down and the next senior in line stepped forward. Rick walked out of the room and began meandering through the administration building with his thoughts churning. A roommate? That was a load of bull; he was a senior. Seniors didn't have roommates. He'd specifically picked his room because he'd be in a single, for the first time in three years, along with all his other friends.

Rick had never really particularly _minded _having a roommate before, he had lucked out his freshman year and been roomed with someone he still considered a good friend. But he wouldn't be honest with himself if he wasn't just a little miffed at the fact that he was going to have to share a cramped space with another person again. He should've just opted to live off campus like Michonne, but he enjoyed UGA's campus too much and frankly was too lazy to commute everyday. Besides, his parents told him they wouldn't help him pay for an apartment if Lori moved in with him, and _that _had gone over extremely well with her…so dorm life it was.

Besides it was only one more year.

But now it was one more year with a roommate. He figured it could be worse; the poor bastard who was his roommate may have been uprooted totally from where he had wanted to be. At least he was still on the same floor that he'd chosen. He decided to view it as an opportunity instead of an inconvenience; he had never been one to pass up the chance of a potential friendship.

Rick was broken out of thoughts by the sound of his name being called by a familiar voice as he stepped out of the building. He spotted his mother standing next to her car, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand and waving with the other. He jogged down the steps towards her, dodging students and parents as he went. "Hey Ma."

"Ricky, did you get your keys?" His mother inquired as he went around to the driver's side of the car, both of them hopping in.

"Yup. I, uh, got a roommate."

"A roommate?" His mother repeated as she slammed the door to the SUV shut.

"Yeah, big freshman class apparently." Rick shrugged a shoulder as he started the engine and pulled away from the curb, carefully maneuvering the vehicle back onto the main road that cut through campus.

His mother hummed thoughtfully in response but made no other comment about it, settling into her seat. As they drove through campus Rick absorbed his surroundings. The university grounds were buzzing with life, parents and students alike were running from place to place, carrying boxes and random odds and ends, hugging people goodbye, hugging other people in greeting. The windows were rolled up to keep the cool AC in the car but Rick could still hear shouts of greetings as they wound their way towards Horvath house, his new residence for the year. He parallel parked the car at the front entrance after waiting for a family to finish moving their things. He popped the trunk before hopping out and meeting his mother around the back.

His mother slung a bag full of clothes over her shoulder and picked up his desk lamp with the other hand. Rick gathered up a box in his arms and nodded for his mom to lead the way into the building. The front entrance functioned as a lobby of sorts, with a few couches and chairs, sparse decorations littered the walls. The clerk was busy directing students to their different rooms but Rick passed him by, pushing the up button on the elevator with his hip.

When they entered the elevator his mother put the bag down on the floor by her feet with a dramatic sigh. "I'm glad this is the last year you're doing this, peach. I don't think I could take another move-in day."

"There's still moving out." Rick glanced sideways at his mother, quirking his lips.

She batted him on the shoulder with a huff of laughter. Rick took a moment to take in his mother's appearance. She was tall, her head coming up to his chin, and lean though her back had begun to curve with her age. She had shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair that was streaked with grey, which she proclaimed gave her a classy appearance. Thin lines had begun to show on her face, around her eyes and mouth, but they were laughter lines mostly. She was wearing a yellow sundress and sandals, the perfect outfit for the late Georgia summer.

When the elevator doors opened up onto the top floor of the apartment building they stepped out into the middle of a long hall, where students and families were bustling in and out of rooms. "Which way?" His mother asked, looking down both sides of the hallway.

"To the right, all the way at the end. 5A." Rick said, gesturing with his head. He followed his mother down the hall, periodically glancing into rooms since the doors were all open as people were coming in and out. They came to the end of the hallway, where an exit light sat on top of a door. Next to it was the only door that was closed, a black "5A" painted on the front. His mother looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged in response and she tried the door, finding it locked.

"Maybe he's not here yet?" Rick suggested, setting the box down and reaching in his pocket for the key. When the door swung open he found he was wrong. The room was large for a dorm, with two beds pressed against opposite sides of the wall, a large window parallel to the door let in a stream of sunshine. Two desks were situated at the ends of both of the beds, pressed against the walls as well. Rick's eyes trailed around the room for a moment before coming to rest on the person laying casually on the bed on the left.

"Uh…hello." Rick said, feeling extremely awkward about the situation all of the sudden.

"Don't just stand there Ricky, this bag is heavy-" his mother pushed past him, into the room, stopping short when she saw the other occupant. It was only a moment before she broke out into a large smile. "Hello sweetie! I'm Judy Grimes, Rick's mom."

The young man lowered the book, which had been obscuring his face, from where he sat propped against the pillows. The first thing Rick noticed was the sharp cut of his blue eyes which were staring at his mother as if she was some sort of strange animal he'd never seen before. "Hello, ma'am." He said quietly before lifting the book back up to shield his face once more.

Judy turned around and gave Rick a look, pursing her lips as she dropped his stuff onto the unoccupied bed.

Rick wandered back into the hall to grab the box he'd set down. He bent over to pick it up when he heard someone comment behind him.

"Careful, don't want to strain a muscle there, pretty boy."

Rick whirled around to see Michonne leaning against the entrance to the common area which was just across from his own room. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?"

Michonne shrugged a shoulder and raised the bag of M&Ms in her hand, popping another one into her mouth. "My apartment building doesn't have vending machines."

Rick quirked a smile and walked towards her, moving the box to his hip so that he could give her a one armed hug, which she returned. "How was your summer?"

She hummed. "Alright, broke up with Andre."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was kind of a dick."

Rick snorted at her bluntness. He'd always appreciated Michonne for it, too many people tended to cover things up with pretty words, but not his friend. He knew she'd make a great lawyer for it; her no-bullshit attitude left no room for arguments.

"How about your summer?"

"Alright, same old, same old."

"Lori?"

"She's around here somewhere."

Michonne hummed again, cutting her eyes around the hallway, looking for Rick's girlfriend.

"Don't do that."

"What?" Michonne turned back to Rick, eyes wide with innocence.

Rick raised an eyebrow but didn't comment, deciding to change the subject instead. "If you want to earn your keep for stealing all our M&Ms why don't you help me unpack? Ma's here and I know she'll make it an all day affair so she doesn't have to say goodbye."

Michonne nodded and Rick handed over the keys to his mother's car before watching her leave through the exit door, opting to take the stairs instead of the elevator. When he re-entered the room his mother was sitting at the foot of his new roommate's bed; who had put his book, open, onto his chest. Rick placed the box down by his desk.

"Ricky, this is Daryl Dixon. He's a forestry major and a senior like you. Isn't that right, dear?" Judy said, patting Daryl's boot-clad foot.

Daryl startled at the contact, drawing his feet up so that he was sitting cross-legged against the head of the bed, his book falling into his lap. He nodded his head but avoided meeting Rick's eye. His long brown hair shielded Rick's view of his face. Rick took a moment to look him over. He was wearing a pair of torn jeans and a black Metallica t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. His arms were crossed over his chest, showing off toned biceps. He was thin and looked tall, though he was hunched over on himself.

"I'm Rick, as I'm sure Ma already mentioned. Ma, why don't you go see if you can find Lori and Mrs. Callies? I saw Michonne earlier and she agreed to help with the rest of my stuff."

His mother looked like she was about to protest but at that moment Michonne appeared in the doorway and Judy sighed in defeat. She got up from the end of Daryl's bed and patted Rick's cheek. She greeted Michonne with a hug before disappearing through the door. Rick hooked his fingers into his belt loops and glanced over at Daryl, who had gone back to reading his book, looking much more relaxed but still studiously ignoring Rick and the new addition to the room. Michonne sent Rick a questioning glance but he shook his head minutely and gestured to the door.

Michonne and he made quick work of the rest of his stuff, dumping the few boxes of things onto his side of the room. Rick was just standing up, stretching his back with a pop, when he caught sight of someone in the doorway.

"Hey baby." Lori Callies stood in the doorframe, with Shane hovering just behind her.

"And that's my cue." Michonne muttered to herself, throwing Rick a mock salute before squeezing passed his girlfriend and disappearing.

Rick stepped forward, wrapping Lori in a hug and slapping Shane on the shoulder. "Long time, no see." Rick joked, kissing Lori on top of the head.

Shane snorted and rubbed his hand through his thick black hair. "Yeah, four hours. Helluva a wait." He commented, referring to the four hour car ride that it had taken them to get here with their families. The trio all came from a small town in Tennessee. Shane and Rick had known each other since they'd been old enough to walk and Lori had been Rick's sweetheart since Junior Prom.

Rick turned, tucking Lori under one arm, while both hers wrapped around his waist. "Daryl—uh, this my girlfriend, Lori. And that's my best friend, Shane." Rick pointed behind him.

Daryl barely glanced up from his book, his blue eyes quickly scanning the two new people before falling to the pages again without so much as a sound of acknowledgement.

Lori tightened her grip on Rick's waist and jerked her head towards the door. The trio stepped out into the crowded hallway. "What the hell?" Lori asked, breaking away from Rick so that she could look up at him properly.

"What?" Rick snapped, somewhat defensively.

"Who is god's name is that redneck?" Shane supplied, Lori nodding rapidly next to him.

"His name's Daryl." Rick answered, feeling a strange flare of protectiveness on the part of his new roommate. "He seems nice enough."

"Dixon?" Shane asked.

"Yeah."

"Ain't nothin' nice about them Dixons, man. You don't wanna tangle with them." Shane rubbed a hand through his hair, shaking his head as he did so.

"He seems fine." Rick reinforced.

"Why do you have a roommate anyway?" Lori bemoaned.

"I don't know, Lor. Big incoming class, they had an overflow and I just happened to be one of them I guess."

"That's bullshit. Everyone else on this hallway is in a single!" Lori crossed her arms with a huff.

Rick latched onto her elbow and pulled her to him, rubbing his hands up and down her biceps in comfort. "Like I said, he ain't too bad. If something funny goes down I'll report it to Res Life, but as of right now, there is nothing I can do about it."

Lori sighed after a moment and tilted her chin up so Rick could give her a reassuring kiss. After a few seconds they broke apart. "I've got to go say goodbye to my mom; she ran off with yours somewhere."

"I bet my Ma is with 'em. I'll go with ya'." Shane offered, to which Lori nodded her head.

"If you see mine send her back this'a way, will ya'?"

"Yeah, man!" Shane called over his shoulder.

Rick smiled as he watched them disappear into the crowd and then headed back into his room. Daryl had shifted on the bed, now lying flat on his stomach with his nose buried in his book. Rick paused for a moment, staring down at his boxes before beginning to unpack. He placed his clothes in the dresser on his side of the room and then turned to the closet. He heard Daryl shift on the bed behind him as he slid door open to the shared space. There were a few jackets, and a nice button down hung on one side of the closet, with a few different pairs of boots thrown haphazardly on the ground; but that's not what caught Rick's eye. Lying on the shelf above the hanger rack was an expensive looking crossbow.

Rick looked over his shoulder at his roommate with an eyebrow cocked. Daryl was standing in between their beds, watching Rick wearily with those piercing eyes. His feet were splayed out and his hands were clenched in fists by his sides, as if he was prepared for a fight.

"Are you allowed to have that?" Rick asked curiously.

"Ya' gonna report me?" Daryl growled defensively, his body swaying slightly towards Rick, even though he was a few feet away.

Rick shrugged a shoulder. "You're not plannin' on shootin' me with it, are you?" Turning to face Daryl and crossing his arms with a small, teasing smile.

Daryl blinked. "Wha—hell no."

Rick smile widened. "Then I don't think we'll have a problem." He turned back to the closet, grinning to himself.

"Ya' ain't worth no damn arrow, anyways." He heard Daryl mumble behind him.

He turned back around and saw that Daryl's face had turned a shade darker, obviously not having meant to be heard, but Rick laughed once. "Glad you think so."

He watched in fascination as Daryl's gaze jumped all over him, like he was scanning the pages of his book and Rick felt as if he may be that easy to read, pinned under the other man's stare. After a moment the dark haired man just nodded and turned to sit back on his bed. Rick went back to putting his clothes away.

His mother bustled back into the room a few minutes later. "Hello boys!" She smiled brightly.

Daryl looked up from his book, turning down the page and laying it aside. "Hello Ma'am." He repeated in the same monotone he'd used the first time.

"None of that 'ma'am' stuff. I told you, sweetie, just call me Judy. All Rick's other friends do."

Daryl bit at his thumbnail but jerked his head once in a nod, his gaze fluttering down to his shoes. Rick thought the movement was oddly endearing.

"You leavin' soon?" Rick asked, putting the last corner of his fitted sheet onto his bed.

"Tryin' to get rid of me, young man?" Judy put her hands on her hips in mock annoyance.

Rick could feel Daryl watching the interaction like a prickle on the back of his neck. "Of course, Ma. The sooner I get rid of you the sooner I can go do all those irresponsible college things. You know; smoke, drink, have lots of—"

"Richard Grimes, don't you ever go there."

Rick laughed outright at his mother's attempt at an indignant expression, which broke after just a moment as she chuckled lightly.

"Git over here and say goodbye."

Rick stepped up to his mother and wrapped her in a hug, breathing in the scent of her flowery perfume, closing his eyes for just a second and allowing himself to find comfort in the embrace, knowing it was the last taste of home he would get for a few months.

When they broke apart Judy's blue eyes were sparkling with unshed tears. "You be a good boy." She said firmly, patting his scruffy cheek fondly.

Rick leaned down and kissed his mother briefly on the cheek. "Of course, Ma."

Judy peeked around Rick's shoulder to look at Daryl, who ducked his head when he thought he had been caught watching the exchange. "You keep him in line for me, dear. He may come off innocent but don't let Ricky fool you."

Daryl's gaze jumped to Rick's. There was confusion and curiosity there, but Rick could also pick out just a faint amount of amusement. Daryl's lip quirked up briefly at Rick, before he looked back at Judy. "Yes ma'am."

Judy nodded, satisfied. She gave Rick another fleeting hug before turning to head out of the door. "Goodbye, boys. It was lovely to meet you, Daryl."

Daryl's "you too" was said so quietly and just a moment too long after she was gone that Rick figured his mother hadn't caught it, but he definitely did and he smiled at his roommate appreciatively.

"Sorry, she can be a bit…much." Rick sighed, shaking his head fondly before collapsing down on his bed and stretching out, putting his hands behind his head and crossing his ankles. "What about yours?" Rick turned his head slightly so he could take in the view of his roommate, who was sitting cross-legged, his back against the wall, facing Rick.

"My what?" Daryl asked.

"Your Ma."

"Dead." Daryl bit out gruffly.

"Oh…I'm sorry." Rick said, watching Daryl quietly as he shifted around on the bed, obviously uncomfortable about something. Rick was searching for something else to say that might alleviate the sudden heavy air hanging around them when the bathroom door banged open, startling Rick into a sitting position and causing Daryl to almost leap out of his bed in shock.

"Rick! I—Oh…um…hi?" A young man in a baseball cap stood uneasily in the middle of their room, one hand on his hip and the other on the back of his head. "Well…this is awkward."

"Who the fuck?" Daryl spat, straightening himself out, obviously annoyed at having been caught off guard.

"Daryl, this is Glenn. He was my roommate freshman year. We've been friends ever since." Rick gestured at Daryl. "This is my roommate, Daryl Dixon."

"Sorry, man. I thought this room was just Rick's. I didn't mean to bother you." Glenn chuckled nervously and then stepped closer, holding out his hand to Daryl.

Daryl stared at the appendage as if he had no idea what a handshake was, shrinking minutely back onto the bed and looking at Glenn with narrowed eyes from beneath his fringe of unruly hair. After a moment Glenn dropped his hand down to his side and stepped over to Rick. "Um…I was just coming to tell you we share a bathroom—I saw Lori in the hallway and she told me this room was yours—she forgot to mention…Daryl."

"It's okay. Daryl and I were just chatting, but maybe knock first next time, yeah?"

"Yeah. Definitely. My bad." Glenn chuckled. "Anyway, the rest of the gang is going to dinner, you coming?"

"Sure." Rick looked around his friend's rail thin body to Daryl who was watching with a look of obvious distaste on his face. "Uh…you wanna come to dinner?"

Daryl shook his head. "Hell no. Don't want ta go ta dinner wit' a bunch of pansies."

"I was just askin'." Rick snapped before getting to his feet. "C'mon Glenn." Rick commanded, a little more harshly than he intend, based on the way Glenn jumped to attention and followed Rick out the door of his room. Rick turned to close the door, not being able to help himself and searching out those crystal blue eyes. They connected gazes for a moment before Rick broke contact and shut the door.


End file.
